KYIV — Ukraine is sick of it.
After American President Donald Trump attacked Kyiv’s leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling him incompetent and a “dictator without elections” who had duped the U.S. into coughing up billions of dollars in military support, Ukrainian politicians, officials and soldiers leaped to their president’s defense.
“Ukraine is a sovereign state! Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the President of Ukraine. Legitimate until another is elected. Only Ukrainians can decide when and under what conditions they should change their government. Today, there are no such conditions,” said Yulia Tymoshenko, former prime minister of Ukraine and leader of the mildly oppositional Motherland faction in the Ukrainian parliament, in a statement Wednesday.
Trump’s stunning and total adoption of the Kremlin’s narrative on Ukraine — which has huge ramifications for Europe’s security architecture — has reverberated across the continent, but nowhere is it being felt more keenly than in Kyiv, which has been resisting a full-scale Russian invasion for three years.
The White House’s attempt to badger Ukraine into holding elections during a war that has sent millions of its citizens fleeing for safety to other countries is particularly vexing for politicians.
The Ukrainian constitution forbids holding elections during martial law and active warfare, as Kyiv can’t guarantee the safety and voting rights of all Ukrainians, such as soldiers and people living in Russian-occupied territories.
“Elections during wartime are impossible and immoral because our military will not be able to participate in them. And without them, elections will never be legitimate. During the war, it is suicidal to start the election race, tearing the country into political camps. Now, more than ever, we need unity and stability,” said Tymoshenko, who opposes Zelenskyy’s idea of offering the West access to Ukraine’s vast reserves of critical minerals.
Election overseers were mystified by the timing of Trump’s election diatribe.
“Yes, we are working on post-war elections and want to have all the decisions in advance to protect our democracy from the Russians and internal challenges. But they need security and guarantees,” said Olga Ajvazovska, the top election watchdog in Ukraine.
Tremors from Trump’s intervention were even felt on the battlefield.
“Trump’s logic is based on Russian propaganda. And the fact that the U.S. president is relaying this is anti-moral and anti-democratic,” Ukrainian soldier Vitalii Ovcharenko said.
‘Lying creature’
After more than five years leading Ukraine, during which time the country has not been at peace with belligerent Russia on its eastern flank, Zelenskyy has his domestic critics.
While MP Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze did not immediately defend Zelenskyy, the senior figure in Ukraine’s European Solidarity party — whose leader Petro Poroshenko was recently sanctioned by Zelenskyy — described Trump’s remarks as “unacceptable.” She is pushing for the president to form a unity government and to involve all political parties in the negotiation process.
“Yes, we heard completely unacceptable statements by the U.S. leader about who started the war; about resolving the “conflict in Ukraine” by completely satisfying Putin’s “wishes”; about de facto potentially forcing Ukraine to surrender everything we have been fighting for for 11 years against aggressive dictatorial Russia,” Klympush-Tsintsadze said.
She said Zelenskyy must now “bury the axe of war with [the] opposition … and unite the country.”
Across Ukraine, local politicians were candid in their opinions of Trump’s attacks.
“We may like Zelenskyy, or we may not, we may scold him, or we may praise him, we may condemn his actions, or we may applaud them … because he is OUR President,” Borys Filatov, mayor of the industrial city of Dnipro, wrote in a social media post.
“No lying creature, neither in Moscow, nor in Washington, nor anywhere, has the right to open his mouth against him,” Filatov added.
Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin — whose region is on the front line facing relentless Russian attacks — said the people of Ukraine have entrusted Zelenskyy with leading the country as it fights a nuclear power.
“In such a difficult time, we, the Ukrainian people, must stand by our leader, who makes no concessions. Just like all of us,” Filashkin said in a statement.
Trump team needs ‘more truth’
In response to Trump’s initial outburst Tuesday night, in which he blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion and falsely claimed the Ukrainian president had a 4 percent approval rating, Zelenskyy said he respects the U.S. president — but added he is surrounded by disinformation.
“The story that 90 percent of all aid is [from] the United States … you and I understand that the truth is a little different, although we are certainly grateful for the help,” Zelenskyy said. “That is why I would like the Trump team to have more truth. We have totally different numbers.
“I know so far [the] war cost us $320 billion. Ukrainian taxpayers covered $120 billion. [The] U.S. and [the] European Union covered $200 billion in total. The U.S. has so far provided us [with] $67 billion worth of military aid and $31.5 billion direct budget aid,” Zelenskyy said.
The latest data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, which has been independently tracking Western aid to Ukraine, suggest that Zelenskyy is closer to the truth than Trump.
As of February, donor countries had provided €267 billion in aid to Ukraine over the past three years: €130 billion in military assistance, €118 billion in financial support and €19 billion in humanitarian aid.
“Europe as a whole has clearly overtaken the U.S. in terms of Ukraine aid. In total, Europe has allocated €70 billion ($72.2 billion) in financial and humanitarian aid as well as €62 billion in military aid. This compares to €64 billion in military aid from the U.S. as well as €50 billion in financial and humanitarian allocations,” the study published last week reads.
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